Read Tapestries 04 - Threads of Destiny for Free Online Page A
Authors: N. J. Walters
toward the secret entrance. “We have to move.” Kathryn dug into her large purse and pulled out two small but lethal handguns.
“Here. This is all I could manage to get.”
Tienan whistled softly as he took one of them and checked to make sure it was loaded. Flicking on the safety, he tossed it to Logan and then took the other one for himself, repeating his swift, sure motions before tucking it into the waistband of his jeans. “You stole these from the experimental lab.” It wasn’t a question but she answered him anyway. “Yes. I knew it was over when General Caruthers came into the labs this morning. They questioned me again and then released me. I could tell that he knew something, that he was just playing cat-and-24
mouse with me.” She slung the strap of her purse over her head and her right arm. This way her hands were free but she wouldn’t lose it.
Tienan grabbed his pack and hustled her over to where Logan waited. “I didn’t know what else to do. Maybe I should have just tried to brazen it out but when I got the chance I left and came home.” She closed her eyes as a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Logan assured her as he stepped into the tunnel ahead of her. It was dark but he had a flashlight that she’d taken from the kitchen several days ago.
Kathryn hated enclosed spaces but her fear of what was behind them was even greater than what was ahead. She plunged forward and Tienan followed close behind, shutting the secret entrance behind him. The darkness was complete, the only light from the flashlight.
She started to speak but Logan held up his hand, instantly silencing her. It was then she heard it. Voices coming from below. Shit! They knew about the tunnels. Panic welled up inside her, threatening her composure.
“I’m right here,” Tienan whispered in her ear.
As suddenly as that, the fear was gone, replaced by an overwhelming sense of calm and determination. She’d fight beside these two men and die beside them if necessary.
“We can’t let them take us alive.” That would be the worst thing that could happen to any of them. They would be brutally tortured for days on end, an example to anyone who thought to defy the Ruling Council. “Promise me.” She placed a hand against each man, needing his word. “Don’t let them take me.”
“I promise.” Tienan’s voice was little more than a low rumble.
Satisfied, she turned to Logan. “What do we do?”
“Up, we have to go back.” His face was solemn in the dim glow of the flashlight.
“It’s too easy for them to trap us here.”
She twisted on the stairs and felt Logan’s hand against the small of her back as they charged back up the stairs and into her bedroom. “If we can get to the west wing, there’s another secret set of stairs. Maybe they don’t know about that one.” Logan shut the door and dragged a sofa in front of it. It wasn’t much but it would slow them down.
“It’s too late.” Tienan dumped his pack onto the floor and forced her into a corner behind him, placing his larger body in front of her as he drew his gun and focused on the door. “They’re here.”
The bedroom door burst open and two armed men surged into the room, their weapons trained on the interior. Neither Logan nor Tienan hesitated. Two shots later the soldiers were dead on the floor.
“How long will your ammunition last?” a male voice questioned. Kathryn’s throat tightened. The General was here.
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“Long enough to shoot you, you cowardly bastard. Just show your head in the doorway and I’ll take care of that little chore.” Logan plastered his body against the side of a large chest of drawers, letting the bulk of it shelter him.
“Ah, Logan.” The General chuckled. “You always were a hothead. Such emotion.
You’re the main reason the project needs to be terminated. Tienan is much more levelheaded. A thinker.” His tone changed, becoming
“Here. This is all I could manage to get.”
Tienan whistled softly as he took one of them and checked to make sure it was loaded. Flicking on the safety, he tossed it to Logan and then took the other one for himself, repeating his swift, sure motions before tucking it into the waistband of his jeans. “You stole these from the experimental lab.” It wasn’t a question but she answered him anyway. “Yes. I knew it was over when General Caruthers came into the labs this morning. They questioned me again and then released me. I could tell that he knew something, that he was just playing cat-and-24
mouse with me.” She slung the strap of her purse over her head and her right arm. This way her hands were free but she wouldn’t lose it.
Tienan grabbed his pack and hustled her over to where Logan waited. “I didn’t know what else to do. Maybe I should have just tried to brazen it out but when I got the chance I left and came home.” She closed her eyes as a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Logan assured her as he stepped into the tunnel ahead of her. It was dark but he had a flashlight that she’d taken from the kitchen several days ago.
Kathryn hated enclosed spaces but her fear of what was behind them was even greater than what was ahead. She plunged forward and Tienan followed close behind, shutting the secret entrance behind him. The darkness was complete, the only light from the flashlight.
She started to speak but Logan held up his hand, instantly silencing her. It was then she heard it. Voices coming from below. Shit! They knew about the tunnels. Panic welled up inside her, threatening her composure.
“I’m right here,” Tienan whispered in her ear.
As suddenly as that, the fear was gone, replaced by an overwhelming sense of calm and determination. She’d fight beside these two men and die beside them if necessary.
“We can’t let them take us alive.” That would be the worst thing that could happen to any of them. They would be brutally tortured for days on end, an example to anyone who thought to defy the Ruling Council. “Promise me.” She placed a hand against each man, needing his word. “Don’t let them take me.”
“I promise.” Tienan’s voice was little more than a low rumble.
Satisfied, she turned to Logan. “What do we do?”
“Up, we have to go back.” His face was solemn in the dim glow of the flashlight.
“It’s too easy for them to trap us here.”
She twisted on the stairs and felt Logan’s hand against the small of her back as they charged back up the stairs and into her bedroom. “If we can get to the west wing, there’s another secret set of stairs. Maybe they don’t know about that one.” Logan shut the door and dragged a sofa in front of it. It wasn’t much but it would slow them down.
“It’s too late.” Tienan dumped his pack onto the floor and forced her into a corner behind him, placing his larger body in front of her as he drew his gun and focused on the door. “They’re here.”
The bedroom door burst open and two armed men surged into the room, their weapons trained on the interior. Neither Logan nor Tienan hesitated. Two shots later the soldiers were dead on the floor.
“How long will your ammunition last?” a male voice questioned. Kathryn’s throat tightened. The General was here.
25
“Long enough to shoot you, you cowardly bastard. Just show your head in the doorway and I’ll take care of that little chore.” Logan plastered his body against the side of a large chest of drawers, letting the bulk of it shelter him.
“Ah, Logan.” The General chuckled. “You always were a hothead. Such emotion.
You’re the main reason the project needs to be terminated. Tienan is much more levelheaded. A thinker.” His tone changed, becoming